DOJ warns Elon Musk pro-Trump PAC that $1 million voter contest may be illegal

The U.S. Department of Justice has warned the super political action committee founded by Elon Musk that its $1 million-per-day voter sweepstakes may violate federal election law, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News on Wednesday.

The letter from the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section to America PAC, the group funded largely by Musk to back Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, was revealed as some legal experts raised questions about the unusual giveaway.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, announced Saturday that he would give $1 million each day to a random registered voter in seven key swing states who sign his PAC’s petition.

The eligible states — Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina — are the most competitive battlegrounds in the contest between Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

Federal law bars paying people to vote or to register to vote. The petition itself does not make signers list their party affiliation but requires listing personal information including an email address and cellphone number.

It was unclear when the DOJ sent the letter, which was reported earlier Wednesday by CNN and the election blog 24Sight News. A DOJ spokesman declined CNBC’s request for comment.

America PAC lawyer Chris Gober, to whom the letter was reportedly addressed, did not immediately respond when contacted by CNBC.

Musk is the world’s richest man and one of the biggest backers of Trump’s White House bid. America PAC has spent more than $100 million on the presidential election, with the vast majority of that money coming from Musk himself.

— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed reporting.